Robert Mapplethorpe

"I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence." 

Robert Mapplethorpe, Self-portrait, 1975.

     It is difficult to write about such a profound and controversial artist like Robert Mapplethorpe.  He took immensely beautiful photographs and ones that disturbed many people.  He was even taken to court posthumously when curator Dennis Barrie and The Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center were put on trial for pandering obscenity for showing images from his Portfolio X series.  For more on the Mapplethorpe censorship controversy: http://www.publiceye.org/theocrat/Mapplethorpe_Chrono.html 

Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lily, 1984.

To begin understanding and appreciating Mapplethorpe and his works, I would suggest doing 3 things:

1. Look at his works and decide what you think for yourself: http://www.mapplethorpe.org/ 

2. There is a good documentary on Mapplethorpe and his work (adult viewers) directed by Nigel Finch for the BBC in 1998 (52 min.): http://www.ubu.com/film/mapplethorpe_arena.html 

Profile of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, one of the most controversial of American photographers, which accompanied an exhibition of his work at the National Portrait Gallery in the year before he died. Contains interview with Mapplethorpe himself, along with critic and author Edmund White, and with several of Mapplethorpe's subjects.

3. Read Patti Smith's book Just Kids (Nov. 2010, Ecco): http://www.amazon.com/Just-Kids-Patti-Smith/dp/0060936223 

    -video of her talking about Mapplethorpe around the time the book was published:   

                                       http://youtu.be/33QXPCAdoX8 

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

War is Hell (*Graphic Images*)

Title: The Harvest of Death, Gettysburg Pennsylvania, July 1863. Artist: Timothy O'Sullivan.

Photo: Julie Jacobson. From the article "The Death of One Marine in Afghanistan." Photo is from Aug. 2009 article is from Sept. 2009.

Yesterday while commuting to and from work I was listening to NPR, as is my usual practice. I find it very stress relieving while driving in crazy traffic that is sprinkled by a lack of turn signals and a pinch of construction. All the talk for the majority of the day seemed focused on a rather controversial photo taken by the AP (Associated Press), a news organization that has been reporting for one-hundred and sixty-three years. This story really made me think, where do we draw the line?

In the art history and art appreciation texts I have read and that I teach from there are lots of examples of gruesome and controversial art. There are a plethora of examples where artists respond to the tragedies of war as well, but, nobody seems all in a tussle about these images anymore. Is it time that takes away the sting? I personally find the images of the dead soldiers from the Civil War just as disturbing as the ones from the war in Afghanistan, but yet one is so much more controversial than the other. They both fall into the category of documentary photography, they are both dead young men, and they both stirred discussion in their times. So, where is it exactly that we draw the line between acceptable documentary photography that captures war and something that is just too much? I don't think anybody has the right answer or if there even could be an answer that is considered "correct" but, I think it is important that we think about where the lines are drawn in situations like these to open a discourse about art, the events in our lives, and the recording of history as it is being made.

Links to the article, photograph, and discussion of the controversy can be found here: http://www.eandppub.com/2009/09/ap-photo-of-afghan-death-that-is-causing-controversy.html

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Annie Leibovitz is Broke??

Photo by Toni Cenicola

Annie Leibovitz is apparently in trouble...she may possibly lose her homes and the rights to her works. She was recently sued on July 29th for nonpayment of a $24 million dollar loan. Ms. Leibovitz took out the loan last year and used her homes, negatives, and the rights to her photographs as collateral.

All news reports that I have read have no comments from Ms. Leibovitz herself, so I do not have her side of the story to state here. Many do not seem terribly surprised that she got herself into such a financial state of affairs, because, Annie has spent notoriously large amounts of money on incredibly extravagant photo shoots. Adding more coals to the fire is the terrible losses she has experienced in recent years, including the deaths of both her father and partner Susan Sontag within months of each other in 2005.

As a result of her financial problems, Ms. Leiboveitz may loose the reproduction rights of her photography which she has guarded very closely over the years, as well as the negatives to many of her most legendary works. She is probably best known for her work with Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and advertising campaigns for American Express, Gap, the Milk Board, and most recently Louis Vuitton.

For links to some of her most famous works, such as Demi Moore pregnant, Whoopi Goldberg in a tub of milk, and John Lennon with Yoko Ono, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitz

May inspiration and creativity be with you!